Harriman's Jean gives Utah State a lift

Utah State is just wrapping up basketball practice, but Marvin Jean is far from finished.

Sal Interdonato

Utah State is just wrapping up basketball practice, but Marvin Jean is far from finished.

Jean stays later to work on his shooting with the team's assistant coaches.

Jean's not done. He returns to the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in the evening for more shooting.

"I put up at least 500 shots off the gun," says Jean, of Harriman.

When asked what he needs to work on in his first year of big-time college basketball, Jean's first answer is shooting.

In Stew Morrill's offensive system at Division I Utah State, Jean, who plays small forward, gets a lot of 3-point looks.

"Utah State's offense is structured," said Jean, who averaged 13.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game for SUNY Sullivan last season. "It has a lot of plays running off screens. I like it. It's system play and it gets me going shooting the ball."

Jean, who is one of Utah State's first players off the bench, is second on the team in 3-point field-goal percentage (46 percent). Jean's role is starting to increase for the Aggies (11-1).

"Marvin is settling in," Morrill said. "He's a good 3-point shooter. He always plays hard, trying to learn the nuances of our system. That has sometimes been a challenge, but he does better every week and in every game."

Morrill has called on Jean to be a "defensive stopper" when he's on the court, which has also forced the junior to work on his rebounding. Jean is striving for consistency every game.

"Your number has to be right," said Jean, who is averaging four points and 15 minutes per game. "You have to take care of the ball. You have to take good shots and have good shot selections and be a stopper on defense. It's a lot."

Utah State players expect to be right. The team expects to win. The school has posted 20 or more wins in 13 straight seasons. The Aggies have made six trips to the NCAA tournament in the last 10 years. The school's tradition brought Jean to Logan, Utah.

"They have won the WAC (Western Athletic Conference) three of the last four years," Jean said. "That drew my attention."

Jean said he's always dreamed of playing in March Madness. He has a good chance of making his dreams come true at Utah State, which is playing its final year in the WAC. Next season, the Aggies move to the Mountain West Conference.

"I try to picture it," Jean said. "Our goal is to get there, win the WAC and get into the tournament. That would be a great experience."